There are still two presents that have yet to be delivered due to illness but I can show you the rest.
The first one is a present for my Sister-In-Law's lovely new husband, the father of H, who I gave the felted bag to. It is always hard making something for a man, especially one you don't spend a lot of time with. I wasn't sure whether a made gift would be well received but I thought I'd take a punt on knitting a scarf. Now this particular gentleman is quite a tall and broad shouldered individual, so I thought in terms of "man-sized". I managed to pick up some lovely yarn from Mary-Clare. It is a super-bulky yarn from Katia, called Tierra. It is roving type yarn made from 70% Wool and 30% acrylic. This simple scarf knitted up in a few hours.
As you can see, it was a simple seed stitch pattern, which I knitted until I ran out of yarn. It is enormous and ooo so squishy.
The reaction to this scarf was perfect. Exactly the kind of thing a knitter likes to see. The recipient immediately held the scarf up and buried his face in it, he emerged grinning. I had no idea that this scarf would be so well received, but I think I will have to try more makes for this family, as they certainly seem to appreciate it!
My other gift was for another male recipient. This was an easy choice as it was for my friend Martin. My friend Martin LOVES wool. He always asks me what is on my needles and likes to touch each project to see how it feels. Any yarn based project for Martin is a no winner. It helps that he is a dog walker and goes hiking in all weathers. Of course I had to make him woolly mittens! Last year I knit him this:
I decided that Martin needed some cabled mittens to match. I picked up some Rowan Felted Tween Aran and got busy!
I love knitting with this yarn, it is so light, warm and springy. The texture is perfect for a rugged outdoorsy type who loves yarn!
The pattern is Cruiser by Cailyn Meyer. It is a free pattern and I knit these in the largest size. I really enjoyed knitting this project as the cable is easy and fun. The thumb is an afterthought thumb and I think it places it nicely.
When I tried these mittens on to take photos I was very taken with them.
I can definitely see myself making these again. I think simply changing the yarn choice would completely alter the look. A soft pale merino would instantly change them into feminine mittens.
I could grow very fond of mittens, I have some on my needles at the moment. I'll tell you all about them on Wednesday - promise!
